D.H. Lawrence Biography

British Writer of Novels, Poems, Essays, Short-Stories, and Plays

Sep 11, 2007

Life and works of D.H. Lawrence, controversial English author on sexual themes, in particular, "Lady Chatterley's Lover."

David Herbert Lawrence (D.H. Lawrence) was a British writer who became controversial when some of his books were written with direct description of sexual relations during the early 1910s and 20s. His books include Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, and Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Early Life of D.H. Lawrence

D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), was born in a Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, village in central England on September 11, 1885. His father was a coal miner, his mother, a former schoolteacher. His parents were poor and quarrelled a lot, and he was often sick. His writing was encouraged by Ford Madox Ford and Edward Garnett.

Lawrence's early years formed the basis of his first major work, Sons and Lovers, a semi-autobiography which was published when he was 28. D.H. Lawrence trained to be a teacher at Nottingham University. Later he ran off with Frieda von Richthofen, wife of Ernest Weekley, the aristocratic German wife of a professor there. After her divorce, they married in 1914.

The Novelist and Sexuality Themes

His next novel, The Rainbow, was seized by the police because it explored marital and sexual relations, used swear words, and talked openly about sex. The book is about two sisters growing up in the north of England. He was prosecuted for obscenity and left England and lived in Italy where he produced a sequel, Women in Love, which became a popular film starring Alan Bates, Oliver Reed and Glenda Jackson.

DH Lawrence and Lady Chatterley's Lover

D.H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda travelled a lot, including in Australia, Italy and North America. They finally settled in Italy after he was told he was dying from tuberculosis. In Italy, he wrote his most controversial book Lady Chatterley's Lover. The book was first privately printed in Italy. It tells of the affair between a married wealthy woman and a man who works for his husband's estate. The book was made into a movie. It was only until 30 years after D.H. Lawrence's death that the uncut version of the book was published. Believed to be an obscene material, the publishers were accused, but later acquitted after a sensational trial. It makes one think if there ever was an influence from Flaubert's Madame Bovary in D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley.

In 1928, D.H. Lawrence was further prosecuted for obscenity over the private publication of Lady Chatterley's Lover in Florence. Opinion is divided over Lawrence's worth as a writer. Evidently, he had strong effect on the younger intellectuals in his time, challenging them to interpret the human emotions on the higher level of consciousness. He died at the age of 44, with his last years spent in Italy.

Books by D.H. Lawrence

Recommended D.H. Lawrence Resource:

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